PIPER MALIBU ACFT ON NIGHT FLT; ON ASSIGNED HDG ALT; WAS CLRED FOR VISUAL APCH TO RWY 36 AND TO TURN BASE PRIOR TO MCDILL AFB. APPARENTLY RPTR LOST SIGHT OF THE RWY AND BECAME SLIGHTLY DISORIENTED WHEN APCH CTLR INTERVENED AND QUESTIONED HIS DSCNT AND POS.

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ON AN IFR FLT FROM ORL TO TPA; I WAS CLRED TO AND WAS MAINTAINING 2600 FT ON APCH TO TPA. I WAS ON AN ASSIGNED HDG OF 240 DEGS; TALKING TO TPA APCH. THE CTLR ASKED 'DID I HAVE THE ARPT IN SIGHT;' I SAID 'I DID.' I WAS ABOUT 4 MI FROM THE FIELD. THE CTLR THEN CLRED ME FOR THE VISUAL APCH TO RWY 36R WITH A TURN TO 180 DEGS; MAINTAIN 2600 FT UNTIL PASSING RWY 27; THEN TURN BASE BEFORE REACHING MCDILL AFB. I CONFIRMED THIS AND STARTED MY TURN FROM 240 DEGS TO 180 DEGS. AS I MADE MY TURN; BEING 2600 FT AND ONLY 4 MI AWAY; THE ARPT DISAPPEARED MOMENTARILY UNDER MY R WING IN MY L TURN. WITHIN SECONDS THE ARPT WAS VISIBLE AGAIN. I LOOKED OVER MY R SHOULDER AND BEHIND MY R WING AND BELIEVED I HAD JUST PASSED RWY 27 AND STARTED MY DSCNT. VERY SHORTLY THEREAFTER; THE CTLR SAID I HAD TFC AT 12 O'CLOCK AND 1 MI. I DID NOT SEE THE TFC; AND HE GAVE ME A TURN TO 090 DEGS. HE ALSO ASKED ME WHY I HAD STARTED MY DSCNT. I TOLD HIM I BELIEVED THAT I HAD PASSED RWY 27. I APOLOGIZED AND TOLD HIM THAT I HAD MOMENTARILY LOST THE FIELD BUT WHEN IT CAME BACK IN VIEW A FEW SECONDS LATER; I WAS SURE THAT I WAS S OF RWY 27. HE REITERATED HOW DANGEROUS THIS WAS; TO WHICH I FULLY CONCUR. MY MISTAKE; I BELIEVE; WAS NOT SUFFICIENTLY REORIENTING MYSELF WITH THE FIELD ALONG WITH THE DESIRE TO GET LOWER TO MAKE THE APCH.